Austrian opens new head office

9th Oct 2007

The ceremony to mark the opening of the new Austrian Airlines Group Head Office taken place this week In recent weeks, 900 employees of the Group have gradually moved into the newly constructed building, which is sited directly at Vienna Airport. ‘In our new Head Office, we are located directly at the Austrian hub, and therefore closer to our customers,’ explained Austrian Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Alfred ?-tsch. ‘We are also creating a bright, modern and friendly working environment for our employees in the new office, which makes both our brand experience and philosophy perceptible.’

Several divisions of the company have been brought together in the Head Office which were formerly accommodated at various different locations. As well as the 650 employees who used to be based at Vienna Oberlaa, the Call Center, Lauda Air and a number of other divisions have moved from the World Trade Center into the Group’s new Head Office. As Alfred ?-tsch went on to explain, ‘By merging so many different divisions of the company, we have not only simplified our working processes and channels of communication but also drawn the organisation closer together on a cultural level.’

The building concept
The Austrian Airlines Group Head Office, which was planned by a team of architects from Wilhelm Holzbauer & Partner, has a Y-shaped footprint. In the 16-month construction phase, a modern, clearly structured building was created which featured a great deal of space for communication. The gross floor space of the building is 24,363 m?. The building is eight storeys high in addition to the ground floor, and is connected with Complex 1 of the Office Park via a footbridge located on the first floor.

The interior design concept of the new Head Office makes the Austrian brand experience truly perceptible and presents the typically Austrian presence. Here, too, the accent is strongly on high Austrian-specific standards of service, with its love of detail and unmistakeable relationship with Austria.

These are made visible through a range of different elements in the design: rock faces are one reference to the Austrian Alps and the grown tradition of the company. As an organic accent, these create an exciting counterpoint to the strict geometric lines of the architecture. Brand impressions such as bright sky, fresh water and natural themes are to be found - just as in the lounges and aircraft cabins - in the shape of large-area projection screens and backlit textile windows. The company’s relationship to flight is also given expression through the design of the building: each of the floors has a geographical focus from the Austrian route network, and the meeting rooms bear the names of destinations in that region.

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Human beings and their interaction are also central to the functional planning of the new space. Centrally positioned forums on every floor - the `Employee Lounges` - are perfectly equipped with info screens and kitchens, inviting their users to engage in communicative exchange. The individual workspaces, in a bright, open and fresh-coloured atmosphere, lend new impetus to everyday working life in the building.

Space in the employee restaurant - the Bistro - is divided into a number of different sections: comfortable bar units for that quick melange, groups of leather seats for brief meetings and different table arrangements for lunch with colleagues. As on board the aircraft and in the Austrian Lounges, Do&Co is responsible for the culinary well-being of users of the space.

Owners
The building of the new Austrian Airlines Group Head Office is the property of Flughafen Wien AG, and leased by Austrian Airlines. Austrian Head Office was previously located at Vienna Oberlaa, where it had been for 29 years, since 1978.——-